Pages

Monday, January 19, 2015

Zod and the Expendables: An Injustice Mobile Multiplayer Team

Raven Prime. Stupid Raven Prime.

This event-only card is probably one of my most hated ones out there, tied only by the equally annoying Killer Frost Regime (which is a different nightmare altogether).

Very few characters in Injustice are as centralizing as this blue crone. Her ability to swap health bars against her unfortunate enemies when she takes too much damage is often enough to turn the tables against unprepared players. To be able to do it twice is almost unfair.

Combined with her sick passive ability, Raven's specials deal a surprisingly huge amount of damage and sets her as potential nightmare match-ups even against the most seasoned players.

The Team
If this team has a motto, it would be: Slow and steady wins the race. The team starts out by playing defensively, and seeks to abuse Zod Prime's often overlooked ability by putting it in a combo with Aquaman's second special skill. Combined with opportunities to deal a huge amount of burst damage and absorb the brunt of enemy special attacks, this is a solid team to use in multiplayer.

Aquaman Prime
Aquaman's goal in this team is simple - to quickly charge up enough power to use his second special skill, Atlantean Hero, while dealing chip damage against opponents. The first two equipment slots contain power generators to allow Aquaman to churn out as many heroes as quickly as possible. To ensure his own longevity, a level two healing gear is placed onto the third equipment slot.

It's interesting to know that the Atlantean Hero actually deals more basic attack damage than Aquaman himself, but his primary goal is to serve as sacrificial fodder to power up Zod Prime (as well as to sponge enemy special attacks and Raven's stupid ability).

Zod Prime
Zod's ability, Phantom Zone Survivor, increases his damage by a whopping 20% per knocked-out teammate and heals him as well. Summoned characters count towards this boost and gives his ability a potential for abuse.

Zod's role is to deal a lot of damage once Aquaman has boosted him up a few levels and tag out if he has absorbed a bit of damage to allow his teammates to power him up and heal him. This is critical to the team's success - knowing when to switch Zod is such a huge momentum push especially if he's been able to fire off unblocked combos against the opponents. Don't be too overconfident in racking up those ten thousand damage basic attacks - take the time to slowly pick apart the opponent especially if they have a few specials stored away.

Zod does not need power generation gear. Instead, he should be equipped with things that increase his basic damage and critical hit rate. I opted to add healing gear that paired well with this (such as the Knife Collection) as it helps Zod absorb more hits before opting to switch out of battle.

While his Kryptonian Rifle is the special attack of choice, his Ground Blast should not be overlooked. After a few boosts, it deals an absurd amount of burst damage even if blocked and would serve as a good push against enemies who just won't die such as Godfall Superman.Harlequin (Animated)
As always, Harley serves as an invaluable support character. Equipped with power generators and healing gear, she can always quickly pop in and provide healing, allowing hear teammates to get back on their feet in case they take too many hits. Being able to deal unblockable damage also has its moments, and is often a time saver.

Sum of the Parts
I think this team is one of the most easily playable teams in terms of skill level. There's plenty of room for mistakes as two of the characters are able to provide support while slowly picking apart the opponent while a powerhouse waits in the folds to deal the finishing blows.